Z-Builders
Z-Builders is a set of Zoids. Overview The Z-Builders are a set of Hasbro and TOMY Blox Zoids, produced primarily in 2003 and 2004. The "Z-Builders" branding appeared on packaging that was otherwise similar to the rest of the Zoids released alongside them. There is little story information given, and no distinction is made between the Guylos and Neo-Zenebas Empires, although some Empire kits include faction insignia for one or the other. Like Blox, Z-Builders are distinguished by being primarily (though not exclusively) non-motorized kits designed more as construction toys than traditional Zoids. They can be easily disassembled after assembly, and multiple Z-Builders kits can be used to create larger and more complex models. The models are based around "Blox" (although the term is never used in the Hasbro releases) - cubes with rubber-lined sockets on each face. The Blox come in four colors: silver for the "Core", black for "land", grey for "sky" and blue-green for "sea". The colors of Blox a kit includes theoretically indicate the element(s) in which it can operate. There are two styles of Blox used in the Z-Builders line, one for Republic Zoids and one for Empire Zoids. In the Japanese line, Republic Blox have blue rubber insides and Empire Blox have red; however, Hasbro used red innards for every single Blox except those included with Leoblaze, Unenlagia, Mosasledge, Nightwise and Buster Eagle. Release This line was branded by Hasbro in the US, while other countries (such as Australia) saw TOMY branding. It includes some, but not all, of the Blox models, as well as a number of original and exclusive models. BZ-101? The designation "BZ-101" has a complicated history. Missile Tortoise, one of the first Z-Builders released, has stickers identifying it as "BZ-101", which fits the numbers of the other Hasbro-original models perfectly. However, for unknown reasons, Missile Tortoise's box identifies it peculiarly as "BZ-011.A". (BZ-011 is the designation of Lord Gale, never released by Hasbro.) At the other end of the line, Power Mammoth - one of the final Hasbro Zoids releases to date - had a box identifying it as "BZ-101", but its stickers identified it as "PZ-001". Finally, a related discrepancy saw Fire Phoenix released in packaging identifying it as "BZ-108", which again fits perfectly with the Hasbro numbering - but its stickers have the designation RZ-101! Considering this is a non-Blox designation number, it may be that RZ-101 is meant to be the Hasbro designation of the Liger Zero Phoenix, but this is merely speculation. The list below uses the BZ-10x numbers for Missile Tortoise and Fire Phoenix to complete the run of BZ-101 through BZ-109, and the PZ-00x numbers for Power Mammoth and Power Mantis because of their (almost) unique prefix. Zoids :(Republic Zoids have designations in blue, Empire Zoids have designations in red) * BZ-001 Leoblaze * BZ-002 Unenlagia * BZ-003 Mosasledge * BZ-004 Nightwise * BZ-005 Fly Scissors * BZ-006 Shell Karn * BZ-007 Diplo Guns * BZ-008 Demons Head * BZ-009 Buster Eagle * BZ-010 Bold Guard * BZ-011.A Missile Tortoise * BZ-012 Leo Striker * BZ-016 Scissor Storm * BZ-017 Laser Storm * BZ-101 Missile Tortoise * BZ-101 Power Mammoth * BZ-102 Cannon Spider * BZ-102 Power Mantis * BZ-103 Gorilla Tron * BZ-104 Ray Saurer * BZ-105 Brachio Zilla * BZ-106 Dimetra Ptera * BZ-107 Leo Gator * BZ-108 / RZ-101 Fire Phoenix * BZ-109 Jet Falcon * PZ-001 Power Mammoth * PZ-002 Power Mantis Category: Zoids releases Category: Blox